


Bloom

by Screaming_bubble



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Like really really slow, Lots of Cursing, M/M, Pining if you squint, Slow Build, Slow Burn, So be warned, Summer, Youth, can you tell i have no clue how to tag, i love soft markhyuk, ill tag more people as i go along, soft, summery feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:39:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14499186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Screaming_bubble/pseuds/Screaming_bubble
Summary: Basically just a soft fic about Donghyuk and Mark falling in love in the summer because if these guys were made for any concept it's falling in love with your best friend.





	1. Of Chlorine, sunblock, and questionable rituals

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fic and it really isn't anything special but I felt like I would never be able to progress if I didn't upload at least one of my works and what better topic to start on than Markhyuk. This pairing makes me so soft and god I just want to wrap them up in a blanket and feed them sweets.  
> The fic title and chapter title were inspired by the song Bloom by The Paper Kites, if you hear the song you'll get what I mean.
> 
> Depending on the responses I get, I may or may not continue with the story, so please give me feedback!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy <3

“Yo, nerd, wanna go to the pool?”

To Mark, Donghyuk was like an ice pop; refreshing, sweet, but still had the ability to give you a massive headache.

“First of all, rude, second of all i can’t. I have homework.”

Donghyuk groaned as he plopped himself down on the desk next to Mark, watching him pack away the last of his school supplies. 

“Fuck the homework dude. Come. To. the. Pool.” He punctuated every word with a smack on the desk. “Come on, when’s the last time we actually had enough free time to go somewhere together?”

Mark looked up to see Donghyuk staring at him through big, pleading eyes. 

 

The boys’ first ever interaction had been when Donghyuks parents decided to invite Marks family, who had just moved to the neighborhood, over to their home 14 years ago. Mark and Donghyuk weren’t much more than toddlers at the time, so all it took was for Donghyuk to reach out and take Marks tiny hand for their friendship to blossom. Their childhood consisted of hours spent babbling incoherent nonsense to each other, making mud pies and sharing soggy soft toys, their connection only getting stronger as the years went by.

“Dude, i’m this close to failing, i’m really not trying to take any risks. Mom said she’s taking away my gaming system if i bring back another F.” Donghyuk rolled his eyes at Marks whining.

“I will literally do your homework for you if you come with me.” Donghyuk deadpanned, but Mark couldn’t help but laugh, because he knew for a damn fact that Donghyuk barely even managed to do his own assignments, let alone someone else’s.

“Stop laughing, i’m so serious right now dude, come to the pool with me.”

***

 

The public pool was disgustingly full, everywhere you looked there were kids screaming and old people wearing swimwear that left way too little to the imagination, the smell of sunscreen and chlorine surrounding them along with the light that reflected off the cement that covered the area. 

Mark readjusted the bag on his shoulder, eyes squinting against the sunlight, before glancing over at his friend. One look at Donghyuk was enough to see that he was just as unenthused about the scene in front of them as Mark was. They made their way over to the grassy corner that had been wordlessly declared theirs whenever it was finally hot enough to actually enjoy being outside, three of their friends already sitting in the shade of one of the trees.

“Whaddup losers.” Donghyuk yelled across the leftover space between them, as Mark apologised to anyone sitting nearby.

“Took you long enough. I was getting tired of hearing Renjun’s bitching about the ‘harmful UV rays’.” Jaemin barely finished his sentence before Renjun pounced onto his back, Jeno laughing in the background.

Mark, being the only one who had any sense of responsibility in the group, smiled as he threw a half empty bottle of sunscreen in his friends general direction before setting a blanket down for him and Donghyuk, who was already in the process of taking off his shirt. 

“You coming swimming or what?” He asked, looking back at Mark. 

Everything about Donghyuk was made for summer, whether it was his naturally tan skin, his fluffy brown hair, or the fact that even in the middle of winter he looked like he exuded the suns rays themselves. He had this quality about him that just drew people in. Similar to when he and Mark had first met, all he had to do was reach out his hand for people to never want to leave his side.  
Mark had always been a little envious of Donghyuk. Where the other was soft and inviting, oozing confidence and charm, Mark was awkward and gangly, always undergoing an internal battle between the part of him that wants to open up and reach out to people and the part that thinks that, even if they did accept him, he would have nothing to offer. Even now, most of Marks friends were thanks to Donghyuk. Every time he had met someone new, he always brought them back to Mark. He introduced them as a packaged deal, making clear from the beginning that it was both or nothing. Mark appreciated this part of Donghyuk; it gave him a sense of pride knowing that this beautiful person who could have anyone in the world had chosen to have him, but a small piece of his brain would always whisper to him that he’s being selfish; that he’s holding Donghyuk back from making connections to people that could be better for him, more suited. 

“Come on! It’s hot! Getcha clothes off!” Donghyuk suddenly ran over to Mark, yanking his shirt up over his head, ignoring Marks shrieks when he got caught in one of the sleeves.

 

***

 

“Fuck, dude, be careful!” Jaemin screamed when Renjun accidentally smacked him on his sunburnt shoulder.

“I told you to watch out for those rays, man!”

The five boys had decided to stop by the convenience store on their way back from the pool to get some ice cream, Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun with their bikes, Donghyuk and Mark on foot.  
It was a sort of tradition to have one last treat before they would part ways to go to their respective houses and neighborhoods. 

Mark and Donghyuk made their way outside and sat down on the curb, opening up their little tubs so they could start their usual little ritual. Ever since they were little, Mark would get cookies and cream while Donghyuk got strawberry so they could mix the two. 

“You guys are so weird.” The two looked up to see Renjun shaking his head while looking at their mushy concoctions in disgust.

“Silence. If ya haven’t tried it, you have no right to bash it.” Donghyuk threw back, waving his little plastic spoon in Renjun’s general direction. It wasn’t long before all of them were sitting on the curb with their respective treats. 

They sat there in silence for a little while, Jeno softly rubbing the patch of Jaemins shoulder that Renjun had assaulted while the others quietly ate away at their ice creams. They had all known each other for so long that there was nothing more natural than just being in each others presence, they didn’t need to fill every second with conversation. 

Renjun was the first one to decide to get up, saying he had a project he had to finish, Jaemin and Jeno following shortly after until it was only Mark and Donghyuk, both sitting together and watching the sky slowly darken with their empty cups in their hands.

“You wanna come over for a bit?” Mark suddenly asked, breaking the silence and looking over at Donghyuk who was facing the sky with his eyes closed. He turned his head to look at Mark through one eye, a cheeky grin on his face.

“What about your homework?”

Mark couldn't help but smile.

“Fuck the homework.”


	2. In the morning when i wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuk needs to learn to set his alarm properly and Summer break is finally upon us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who responded to my last chapter!! You guys fill my heart with flowers.
> 
> Imma warn you ahead of time, i have absolutely no idea in which direction this story is going to go, or whether or not the plot is going to make sense, so again, please tell me your thoughts!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter and the changes in my writing depending on the hour i write isn't too obvious XD

“Dude, hurry up!”

Donghyuk could hear Marks voice calling from outside of his window as he loosely pulled his school tie over his head, groaning when it got caught on the toothbrush that was sticking out of his mouth.  
He ran to the bathroom to spit out the toothbrush and whatever toothpaste had collected in his mouth before bounding his way down the stairs and tugging on his shoes by the front door. Luckily for him his mom hadn’t decided to have an impromptu cleaning session and his school bag was still lying next to the front door where he had haphazardly dropped it the night before. He let out one quick yell to let his brother know he was leaving the house before running out the front door, narrowly avoiding tripping over the neighbors cat.

As soon as he stepped outside his front gate, Donghyuk was greeted by Mark leaning against his old ten-speed, a grin on his face as he watched Donghyuk try to make his way over to him without tripping on his undone shoelaces.

“Why are you lookin at me like that?”

Mark let out one of his signature laughs, the kind that was much too enthusiastic considering the situation, before reaching into his backpack and taking out a pack of tissues, pulling one out and throwing the rest of the pack at Donghyuk.

“You’ve got toothpaste literally everywhere.” He wiped away at the white stains around Donghyuks mouth, laughing even louder when Donghyuk batted his hand away to roughly rub the back of his own hand against his face.

“That’s laters problem, i did not force myself to get ready in 10 minutes only to end up showing up late anyway. Let’s bounce.” Donghyuk hadn’t even finished his sentence before he was already pushing Mark and his bike forward, hopping onto the rack and making Mark scream when the bike wobbled.

 

***

 

The two boys had managed to tumble through the door to their classroom right as the second bell rang, Mark narrowly missing running in a girl that was throwing out a piece of trash while Donghyuk asked their classmates if anyone had a mirror to see if he could fix his appearance before their teacher arrived.

“Damn, what the hell happened to you?” Renjun blurted out as he watched his two friends listlessly fall into their chairs, Donghyuk already trying to tame the massive cowlick that had decided to take residence at the front of his head. Jeno and Jaemin both turned around to join the conversation just in time to see the hair Donghyuk had been trying to glue down bounce back out of place, taking a couple extra strands with it and making Donghyuk let out a small whine.

“Sleeping beauty over here forgot to set his alarm last night.” Mark replied, reaching into Donghyuks bag to help him get out his textbook while he was busy fixing his hair so he could at least pretend he was going to take part in the class.  
“Now do you see why i always say it pays to arrive early?”

Donghyuk took a second to look up from his reflection, exaggeratedly blowing a kiss in Marks direction, while still trying to hold down the bits of hair that refused to cooperate.

Mark rolled his eyes, smiling, as he flipped through the pages in both of their books right as their teacher announced his presence.

 

The faster summer break approached the more apparent everyone’s restlessness was becoming. Whatever focus the students had managed to hold on to since winter break was disappearing just as fast as Donghyuks interest.

Not that Donghyuk had ever had much interest in school to begin with. It was a mad stroke of luck that he was capable of soaking up information like a sponge, allowing him to pass his classes with average and above grades even though he usually spent the majority of his classes napping in the back while Mark tried his best to hide him from the teachers

Today however, it seemed like he wasn't the only one who couldn’t be bothered to do anything, at least half of the class already missing while the other half was barely holding on with their last strings of motivation. It was the third to last day before the end of the school year and 80% of the school had already mentally clocked out, Mark and his friends being no exception.  
They all sat in the back of the classroom, their school shirts unbuttoned, utilising the free hour they had been gifted to try and come up with plans for summer break.

“If we don’t make it to the beach again this year, I swear to god i’m scalping one of you.” 

Donghyuk was leaning back on his chair, throat bared as he fanned himself with an old math worksheet he had folded up while Mark had positioned himself sideways so he could face his friends while also soaking up as much of the cold from the wall behind him as he could, the plaster letting a nice soft chill spread across his back.

“Dude, you’re the one that had to be taken to the hospital because you sprained your ankle trying to outrun your brother.” Mark reminded him, laughing when Donghyuk lolled his head forward to send him a glare.

“That doesn’t refute my previous statement, and just for that, you’re the one i’m gonna scalp.”

Jaemin, Jeno, and Renjun softly laughed along, the overwhelming heat and lack of A.C. making them lie around as if they were made of rubber that had been left in the sun for to long.

“I’m serious though guys, lets do something fun this year.”

 

***

 

The first day of summer break found Donghyuk lounging in a pair of pink swim trunks on one of the large deck chairs that decorated his backyard, the yellow linoleum cushions sticking to him with a mixture of sweat and sunscreen as he let his skin soak up all the rays he had been deprived of while being forced to sit in a classroom for 6 hours at a time. He softly hummed along to a Lauryn Hill song that had started playing on his phone, enjoying his new found free time.

All of his friends were busy. Jaemin was currently taking extracurricular english classes that his mom had forced him to sign up for to “improve his scholarship chances”, Jeno was at dance practice, Renjun had decided to take up babysitting their neighbors three year old terror on legs in order to make some extra cash for the summer, and Mark was away at his guitar lessons. How they had managed to find activities that all take place at exactly the same time, forcing Donghyuk to figure out a way to entertain himself until they were done, nobody knows. Luckily for them, It was a nice ass day to chill outside.

He let out a content sigh as he leaned his head back to watch the clouds slowly float by through the lenses of his sunglasses. 

It was pretty rare for Donghyuk to ever find himself completely alone. Growing up in a household with 2 older brothers didn’t really leave him with much time to himself. It’s not that he minded the constant distraction, it was just nice to let his mind shut off for a little bit, to let his thoughts take their natural course and enjoy the (almost) silence and solitude around him.

“Yo Hyukkie, Mark called, he said his class got cancelled and that he’s coming over.”

So much for silence and solitude. Donghyuk lazily rolled his head to the side to see his oldest brother, Dongyoung, sit down on one of the chairs beside him, a glass of lemonade in one hand and a magazine in the other. He had on a pair of red boardshorts with a black tank top, old school wayfarers resting on his nose as he flipped through the pages of the magazine.

Donghyuk got along pretty alright with his brothers. Of course, they would get along even better if he could just learn to stop messing with them all the time but for the most part they had a pretty good relationship.  
Dongyoung spent most of his time away at a University out of state,studying to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music, only coming home during the holidays while Jaehyun, his second oldest brother still lived at home, studying communications science at a small community college nearby. 

“When did you come back?”

“Last night at like 2. I got a ride back with Taeyong and his friend Yuta.” He paused to take a sip of his drink, Donghyuk still facing him.

“I think Mrs.Na wants to throw another block party so you’ll probably meet him there. You’ll like him.”

“Why do you say that?”

Dongyoung turned to face Donghyuk with a cheeky grin on his face, lifting the magazine a little higher to his face

“He’s a bit of an ass, so you guys should get along swimmingly.”

Donghyuk, clearly offended, picked up a handful of grass and threw it at him, Dongyoung trying to avoid getting grass in his mouth while he laughed at his own joke.

The two sat there for a bit, Donghyuk still throwing grass and whining about how he is NOT an asshole while Dongyoung continued to laugh, shielding himself with his tabloid until they heard a thud at the foot of their garden, both looking up to see Mark standing up and brushing the dirt off his knees.

He was wearing jeans shorts that cut right above the knee and a flannel over his old Andre 3000 T-shirt he had gotten from his cousin when he was like ten. He was just in the midst of readjusting the backwards snapback he wore to keep his hair out of his face when he spotted  
Dongyoung, stopping him in his tracks, his cheeks going red when the older started laughing again.

“Are you ever going to learn how to use the front door?” Dongyoung said fondly, standing up and brushing the pieces of grass and dirt off his clothes.

Mark let out a chuckle while shrugging. “Hey man, old habits die hard.” 

Donghyuk watched as Mark made his way over to his brother and gave him a hug, Mark groaning when Dongyoung squeezed him too hard.

“Wow, so you guys get hugs when you see each other but I get called an asshole and don’t even get a hello? I see how it is, i see you.”

Mark and Dongyoung both roll their eyes before Mark walks over to Donghyuk, his hand stretched out in greeting, but instead of the usual excessive handshake they always insisted on using, Donghyuk grabbed his arm and yanked him down on top of him.

“Ugh dude, you’re all slippery!” Mark yelled as he struggled to get Donghyuk, who was currently wrapped around him like a Boa constrictor, to let him go.

“Why wont you accept my love Mark? Why must you always fight?”

After a couple seconds of struggle with Donghyuk still refusing to let go, Mark decide to give up and peacefully let Donghyuk hug him, his clothes already slightly damp and smelling of kids sunscreen.

Dongyoung, whom the two had completely forgotten was still there cleared his throat to bring the boys attention to him.  
“As entertaining as it is to watch you guys do whatever it is you’re doing,” He paused to wave his hand in their general direction. “I’m gonna go and see if i can do pretty much anything else.”  
He picked up the lemonade and magazine he had set down to bear hug Mark and started making his way back into the house while calling out a “Have fun losers!” over his shoulder.

“He thinks he’s so cool now that he has college friends” Donghyuk says, grimacing in the direction his brother had left in before yelling “Don’t forget the time you got mad because we  
wouldn’t let ya play mario kart with us!”

Mark, still wrapped up in Donghyuks arms let out a small chuckle before propping himself up and adjusting his position so he could sit opposite Donghyuk on the chair instead of sprawled on top of him.

“Why’d they cancel your class?”

Mark shrugged before fixing his hair under his snapback.

“I dunno, something about a family emergency. They couldn’t find any subs either so we’re just going to continue next week which sucks, because i was actually kind of looking forward to today. We were supposed to choose a song and learn how to play it without guidelines.”

Donghyuk watched as Mark went on about his guitar lessons, a small smile on his face. He always loved how enthusiastic he would get about everything he did, whether it was music or something as simple as a new color coding system for his notes. Everything seemed so exciting  
when you were Mark Lee.

“You should show me what you’ve learned sometime.” 

Mark looked at him in surprise for a second before looking down and sheepishly rubbing at his neck.

“Ah, nah, i’m not that good, i’m still in the beginning stages so i fuck up a lot.”

Donghyuk smiled at his friend before giving his shoulder a soft shove to get him to look back up at him.

“Uhm, duh, why else do you think i wanna listen? I need knew blackmail material.”

His embarrassment gone, Mark let out the kind of open mouthed laugh that only Mark could do, right before shoving Donghyuk off the chair so he could fall face first in the grass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, now we've been introduced to a couple new characters and some names have been dropped! I have some kind of plan on who the other members are, character wise, it's just a question of how i'm going to smoothly integrate them into the story line.
> 
> I'm honestly not as chuffed with this chapter as the first one, but i felt ike it was needed in order to get the ball rolling, ya feel? Either way, please bear with me, the story should start getting fun soon.


	3. Cheetos, Ronin, and backyard couches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark goes to the block party and a couple new faces are introduced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, let me just take this opportunity to formally apologize for making you all wait so long.  
> Writers block is a serious bitch.
> 
> I really wish I could say the wait was worth it, but I practically rushed through the last draft of this chapter because I just wanted it to be DONE!  
> Please don't let this deter you from the rest of the story, i swear i have cute things planned.

“Ok so let me get this straight…” Donghyuk paused, staring at the thumbnail of the Wiki page in front of them, his head leaning on his hands, fingers propping up his chin.

“This entire show is about some girl... who managed to save two dudes from being executed... and then somehow persuaded them to help her look for a samurai who smells like sunflowers? That’s it?”

Mark had been spending the better half of the afternoon trying to persuade his best friend to watch one of his favorite shows with him while everyone else in the neighborhood was too preoccupied preparing for the infamous block party that was to happen later that night. 

“I mean, yeah, but like that’s not the main point.” 

Donghyuk turned to him, an unimpressed expression on his face.

“the coolest part of this show is the fact that they like fuse urban culture with like a historical japanese scenery” 

Donghyuk watched from where he had nestled into the corner of the couch, his knees bent up in front of his slouched body, almost obstructing his face as he popped another Cheeto in his mouth.

Mark looked at his friend expectantly, waiting for Donghyuk to finish chewing so he could give him some kind of response. 

“Dude, you're ‘like’ such a dork. Why am I even friends with you?”

Mark really should have seen it coming.

He rolled his eyes as he slumped back into the couch, defeated, and picked up a Cheeto before jabbing it at Donghyuks face making the other flinch away with a shriek right before it could touch him. 

“That’s because you know i’m the only one who tolerates your ass.” 

Donghyuk pushed himself out of the dent he had created in the couch to leap up and attack Mark with his cheeto fingers, making the older boy yell as he tried his best to avoid them.

Mark was a centimeter away from having a neon orange stripe smeared across his cheek, when he heard the click and swoosh of his patio door sliding open, a very annoyed looking Jaemin marching into the house. The two boys had frozen in place, watching as their friend threw off his sneakers and stomped his way across the living room to plonk himself down in the old armchair across from them. 

“I don’t know why they always ask me to help out when all the do is bitch at me that i’m doing things wrong.” 

Jaemin slid himself further into the chair, his arms crossed across his chest in a sulk.

Noticing his friends distress, Mark let go of Donghyuk, that he had been clutching onto by the wrists to avoid getting cheese dust on him, before he turned to face him, Donghyuk coming up behind him and resting his chin on his shoulder, both of their attention fully directed towards Jaemin.

“Party set up not going well?”

Jaemin let out a sigh before running his hands through his hair, the sweat and general frustration making it stick up in every direction. Mark could feel the air from Donghyuk’s soft snickers on his neck, Jaemin obviously too deep in his inner turmoil to notice.

“Every year we throw the same party, and every year they get stressed out about the same things. Like what’s the big deal? It’s a fucking block party, we see these people every day, it’s not like we’re about to have Ryan Reynolds over.”

Donghyuk suddenly lifted his head, his whole upper body leaning against Marks back, as he quietly muttered out a “Shit, then i might actually want to go.” 

It only took one jab in the ribs for Donghyuk to let out a small groan and fall backwards, cackling, his high pitched laugh forcing a smile out of both of his friends.

Mark could see Jaemin give them both a once-over, taking in the saggy T-shirts and shorts they had obviously worn as pajamas the night before, their hair in the same state it was in when they woke up, and the empty snack wrappers lying in direct vicinity if where they were sitting on the couch.

“What’re you guys up to, anyway?”

Donghyuk pulled himself back upright with the back of Marks T-shirt before leaning his body on top of Mark again, his chin resting on top of Mark's head while his arms dangled over his shoulders.

“Mark’s showing me Samurai Shampoo.”

“It’s Champloo, not Shampoo you walnut, and did you just get Cheeto dust on my t-shirt?” 

There was a brief moment of silence before he could feel Donghyuks hand softly swipe at his back.

“There might be.”

 

***

 

As much as he liked to complain about the formalities that came with attending parties, Mark would be flat out lying if he said he didn’t have a bit of a soft spot for them.

As the years went by, Mark could feel it become gradually harder for him to see the people he had grown up with, the people who he had spent the majority of his life with and who he had come to call his family, whether it was because of his own school responsibilities or the fact that a good bunch of them had had to leave their little suburb to go out of town to study. 

These parties had become an excuse for everyone to finally see each other again, to reunite and act like nothing had changed.

 

“Ay yo, Mark Lee!” 

2 years and Mark still instantly recognized that voice.

“Johnny!”

Marks cousin had lived with the Lee family during his highschool years, back when his parents had decided it would be better for him to grow up in a quiet environment instead of being exposed to the ”harsh life” of the big city. He was the closest Mark had ever experienced to having a brother, one of the main contributors to who he was today.

 

Mark ran over, leaping up to give him a hug, Johnny nearly falling over from the force of it.

“What’re you doing here? Does mom know?”

Johny put Mark back down, a broad grin on his face as he straightened his shirt, running one of his hands through his hair.

“Yeah, i just saw her. I heard Taeyong was coming back down here to see his fam so i thought, shit, i should go ahead and check in on mine.”

“Taeyong’s here too?” Mark frantically looked around, his eyes searching the crowded backyard for a certain familiar face.

Johnny turned Mark by the shoulders, directing him over to where he could see Taeyong, with all his pink haired glory, talking to their friend Sicheng, one of the newer contributions to their neighborhood after having moved there from China with his mother and little brother the year before.

“Go say hi. He brought his friend Yuta with him.”

Mark didn't have to be told twice before he made his way across the garden towards the little group, practically tackling Taeyong with his back hug.

“Bro! I missed you so much!”

Taeyong flailed his arms around, nearly smacking anyone near him as someone took his cup to stop whatever was inside from spilling all over everyone.

“Who is this? Is this Mark? It’s gotta be Mark, no one else says bro unironically.”

Mark slid off his back so Taeyong could face him, a huge smile across his face as the older gave him a hug. Taeyong suddenly froze and pushed the younger away from him, holding him at arms length and taking in his appearance.

“When the hell did you become the same height as me??”

Mark laughed as he awkwardly ruffled his own hair.

“I went through a bit of a growth spurt last year.

Taeyong looked him up and down again, crossing his arms over his chest and pulling his mouth into a pout.

“Yeah, well you better get to shrinking, because this doesn’t fly with me.”

“Taeyong, just accept that you’re going to be shorted than almost everyone else in your life.”

Mark turned to find a man around Taeyongs age standing there, his face pulled into a friendly smile as he ignored Taeyongs scandalised expression to introduce himself.

“Hi, I’m Yuta. I’m Taeyongs roommate. He’s told me things i’m pretty sure i’m not supposed to know about all of you.”

Mark laughed as he reached out his hand to shake Yuta’s.

He was just about to introduce himself properly when he felt a pair of hands slide their way across his waist and the familiar feeling of a chin on his shoulder.

“Well would you look at that, it’s thing 2!”

Mark didn’t even have to turn to know it was Donghyuk, the familiar smell of his shampoo mixing with the smell of grass and smoke from the grill that was burning away off to the side.

“Yuta, this is Mark and the koala clinging to him is Donghyuk. Watch out for that one, he's a little shit.” 

Mark smiled as he felt Donghyuk sputter behind him.

***

 

A comfortable lull had started to take over the party, the kind where all the adults are on the sleepier side of a little too tipsy and the kids were starting to crash from the sugar rushes they had gotten after shoving their face with one unnaturally colored candy after the other.

Most of the grownups had gone inside once there was a promise of more wine, leaving the garden to younger members of the neighbourhood, who were all spread out into their own little respective areas.

Jaemin and Jeno were taking a quick nap on one of the lawnchairs off to the side while Renjun was sitting on the grass with two of their youngest friends, all three with their heads pushed together to stare down at a Nintendo one of them had managed to smuggle in. Standing by one of the food tables, Jaehyun was listening wide eyed to some of Taeyongs stories from college, Doyoung nodding along and only occasionally intercepting whenever the stories got too rowdy. Somewhere in the distance Johnny could be heard laughing at something someone else was saying.

Mark and Donghyuk were sitting on one of the couches Jaemin’s mom had put out on the garden especially for this occasion, amusedly watching as Yuta, who had definitely had his fair share of drinks that evening, was trying to get Sicheng to shake his hips along to the music that was still softly playing in the background.

Mark felt Donghyuks head droop down onto his shoulder with a soft thud, his hair tickling at Marks ear when he muzzled his head into a more comfortable position.

This was such a common occurrence and yet Mark couldn’t help the happiness bubbling up inside of him, the way his body tensed up just a tiny bit in fear that if he were to move a single muscle he would lose the honorable title of “Donghyuks headrest.” 

“You tired?”

Donghyuk nodded his head, a soft hum vibrating through marks shoulder.

“These parties go on way too long.” Donghyuks voice was soft and airy, melting into the humid air around them.

“I have to say though, watching Sicheng’s face when Yuta tried to teach him how to grind definitely made the extra hours worth it.”

Mark let out a soft chuckle, still careful not to jostle his friends head on his shoulder. There was a couple seconds of silence before Donghyuk spoke up again, even softer than before.

“Seeing you all dressed up was pretty nice too.”

Mark tilted his head downward to look at Donghyuks face, which was still nestled on his shoulder bone, facing downwards to hide behind his hair. He could feel his face becoming hotter, the way his breath had suddenly gotten more shallow. He couldn’t understand why he was so flustered. Donghyuk had complimented him before, so why was this different?

Donghyuk raised his head, his eyes looking straight into Marks as he straightened himself up a bit. Something about his expression was much more unsure than his usual cockiness, more awkward than his usual confidence.  
That's when Mark realised what was different.

This was the first time Donghyuk had ever sincerely complimented him. No sarcasm, no mocking, no teasing undertone. Just a genuine compliment. 

Mark could see Donghyuk backtrack in his head, try to find a way to lighten the mood and get rid of the thick atmosphere that had built between them.

He stretched his arms over his head, a little whine escaping from his throat before he pushed himself up from the couch and turned back to face mark, a hand stretched out towards him.

“I’m gonna go raid what's left of the food for midnight snacks. Wanna come?”

Mark looked up at his friend, a grin on his face as he grabbed his hand and hoisted himself up.

“As if you even had to ask.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was that.  
> We got to meet a couple new peeps and we got a few flutters from our favorite dynamic duo.  
> I'm so sorry about how messy it is, and thank you so much for putting up with my flakey ass, future chapters should hopefully be a lot better ( and a bit more frequent, if i actually ever get my act together).  
> Thank you so much for all the kind words you guys have sent me, i am so not deserving of it (especially after this soggy bowl of cornflakes ive handed you) but i really really appreciate it. You guys make me want to give my absolute best so please keep it going!
> 
> I'll catch you guys on the flip side, Mwah~


	4. Don't climb rocks with Birkenstocks (Beach day part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuk and Mark go to the beach together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves! Guess who's back with an update!
> 
> Alright, so I was going to make a special little double upload thing as a sort of thank you to all the people who had actually stuck around for this story (you guys don't realize how happy your comments and encouragements made me like wow, what did I do to deserve) buuuuuuut i'm flakey as hell and wasn't able to finish editing it before I was hit with the good ol' restlessness to publish at least the first part. 
> 
> But anyhow, here is some nice soft beach day fun, I hope you enjoy it and get ready for part 2 which will be coming very very soon <3

It was disgustingly hot in Donghyuk’s bedroom, the bed sheets sticking to his body like glue as he watched the ceiling fan whir above his head, not doing much more than circulating the hot air around the room. 

He loved summer, he really did, but he could definitely do without feeling like he lived in a bowl of soup, especially on days like this.

On any other occasion, Donghyuk would have taken advantage of the lack of rain to go outside and do a little sunbathing in the garden, maybe hang out under the tree that grew by the back fence, but unfortunately his mom had chosen today of all days to have the gardeners de-weed the garden and as much as he liked to bask in people’s attention, even he had his limits.

He was in the middle of contemplating whether it would be a good idea to roll onto the floor after he had been soaking in a puddle of his own sweat for the past 15 minutes when he heard his phone buzzing from where it was charging on the table beside him.

He flung his arm out, too sluggish to look where the phone was and instead opting for letting his hand flop around until he could find it. He yanked it forward, unplugging the cable, and held it above his face to see who was calling. He smiled.

“Whaddup Marky Mark?”

“Hey Hyuk. You busy?”

Donghyuk adjusted his position so he was sitting upright, enjoying the feeling of air against his back.

“Nah, just wallowing in self pity and drowning in my own sweat. Why, what’s up?”

He could hear Mark’s chuckles over his phone speaker, the corners of his mouth turning up just at the sound.

“Nothing much, I was just wondering, if you don’t have anything better to do, if you would wanna, like, go to the beach today?”

Donghyuk looked up towards the ceiling and praised whatever gods had sent Mark Lee his way.

“There is literally nothing I would rather do right now.”

 

***  
“Dude, why are you dressed like you’re going to a photoshoot?”

Donghyuk had just closed the gate behind him before he looked up to see Mark leaning against his bike, dressed in a black muscle tee and boardshorts, with his black backpack slung over his shoulder as he looked Donghyuk up and down.

Donghyuk’s outfit consisted of a large white sun hat with a pair of sunglasses that covered at least 40 percent of his face. He had on a threadbare charcoal grey t-shirt that had fashionably placed holes around the collar and hem which almost completely covered the pair of mid thigh black shorts he had chosen to wear, all accompanied by a huge beach bag he had hanging off of one shoulder and a pair of birkenstocks.

“Mark, no offense, but I refuse to have my fashion criticised by someone who unironically wears crocs in their free time.”

“That was ONE TIME, and they were my moms!”

Donghyuk plonked himself ungracefully onto the back of his bike, his bag smushed in front of him with his arms already wrapped around Marks waist.

“Alright, alright, whatever you say. Come on Croc-boy, let’s go.”

 

***

 

On the way to the station, Mark had decided to take the scenic route, cycling through the side streets of their quiet suburbs and enjoying the overall essence of summer. Everything was surprisingly serene, most people having opted to stay inside or go to the pool instead of subject themselves to the muggy heat of midday, the little parks and neighborhoods that were scattered along the way mostly empty except for the occasional family and group of teenagers.

Donghyuk’s head was tilted back, his sunhat dangling and swaying from his neck as he let the shadows of the trees flit over his face. He focused on the flashing beneath his eyelids until he found himself distracted by Mark’s breathing and the way his stomach muscles would move under his hands every time he pushed down on the pedals.

Donghyuk slowly opened his eyes to watch the green leaves above them, becoming translucent whenever the sun’s rays managed to shine through.

“You doin’ ok back there?”

Donghyuk tilted his head forward to look at Mark, who was turned enough for Donghyuk to see his cheekbone and a bit of his eye while he tried to focus on the road ahead of him.

Donghyuk watched as Marks eyelashes reflected little flickers of light, sweat dotting his hairline as his skin began to take on a pinkish color from the heat and exertion that comes with pushing the weight of two people forward. But even then, he was practically glowing.

A warning siren went off in Donghyuk’s head. He’ll deal with that later.

“Uh yeah, i’m chillin’. my ass is a little numb, but nothing crazy.”

Mark let out another one of those typical “Mark” laughs, the kind that shakes his whole body, and in turn, shook Donghyuk’s too. He was always amazed at just how easy it was to make Mark laugh.

“Alright cool. We’re going to be there in like a couple seconds so just hang tight.”

Donghyuk grinned to himself as Mark swerved around a pothole, using it as an excuse to wrap his arms tighter around Marks waist.

“Ay ay captain.”

 

***

 

Donghyuk was practically vibrating by the time Mark was getting their tickets. 

His parents had both grown up and fallen in love in a town by the sea so it was only natural that they had wanted their kids to share their love for it. Unfortunately, the only one who had picked up any kind of affection for the ocean was Donghyuk.  
He could still remember how Dongyoung and Jaehyun’s complaints about their trips when they were younger, whether it was about the sand or the sun or the fact that Jaehyun didn't like the way the salt water made his hair feel all sticky, they would try any excuse they could to try and persuade their parents to let them stay home. 

 

“Ok, we have to go to platform 3. You have all your stuff?”

Donghyuk nodded enthusiastically, already pushing Mark into the direction of their platform.

The boys luckily didn't have to wait long to get onto the train, already trying to squeeze past various pieces of luggage scattered across the way while people situated themselves in their little booths. Donghyuk practically threw himself at the first pair of empty seats he could find, ignoring Mark apologizing profusely to a lady Donghyuk had accidentally stepped on in his frenzy.

“Dude, could you at least try to focus on someone other than yourself?”

Donghyuk stopped trying to squash his bag between his legs in front of him to look up at him with an innocent expression and say “I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about” before sticking out his tongue.

 

 

The train ride itself wasn’t particularly eventful, Donghyuk mainly staring out of the window while Mark sat beside him, music blasting in one ear and trying his best not to fall asleep after probably spending most of the night before playing video games.

He was just about to point out something he had seen to Mark when he felt something flop on his shoulder with a soft thump, turning to find that Mark had completely knocked out, his chest slowly rising and falling with his head leaning against him.

Donghyuk rolled his eyes, reaching over to shake his friend awake when he suddenly froze.

There was something about the way the sun streaming through the window lit up Marks skin, made him seem like he was glowing.  
He stared at the way his eyelids twitched every time a shadow would pass over him, the way his beauty marks stood out against his otherways unfairly unblemished skin, barely registering the soft sound of his breathing that was almost completely drowned out by the general noise of the train and conversations around them.

 

Donghyuk had seen Mark in practically every state of being, had been there with him throughout every phase, every change, and yet he had never seen him like this. 

He wasn’t blind, he saw how people looked at Mark, how it never took more than five minutes for anyone he was talking to to be enamoured. He knew Mark was attractive but never in his life had he ever found him beautiful before. 

Too busy staring at Marks sleeping face, Donghyuk didn’t notice the intercom screeching out something that really should have been a human language but ended up sounding more like a fork scratching against a frying pan, the noise waking Mark up with a jerk as Donghyuk jumped back, trying his best to not look like he was caught.

Mark ran his hand through his short, dark hair, the strands standing up at awkward angles as he looked around the car with one eye open.

“Oh shit dude, I knocked out for a bit there. Where are we?”

He groggily rubbed his eyes, squinting against the light and trying to see if he could recognise any landmarks outside. 

He turned to face Donghyuk, who was still trying to get his heart rate to go down, and smiled at him, eyes still slightly drooping after his nap.

“You weren’t too bored without me, were you?”

Donghyuk scoffed, rolling his eyes and sliding his shades off the top of his hat and back on his face.

“Psht, don’t flatter yourself.”

 

***

 

Apparently, Mark wasn’t the only one who had decided today would be a good day to go to the beach.

Everywhere they looked families were spread out with their multicolored beach towels and picnic blankets, Rainbow parasols pitched up as far as the eye could see. The sound of children screeching blended in with the cawing of seagulls and the crashing of waves, all tied together with a cacophony of songs blaring from different peoples speakers.

Donghyuk glared at the sea of beach goers in front of him, his abnormally large glasses slipping off his nose and his beach bag hanging from his hand unenthusiastically.

“God I hate people.”

“What’re we gonna do?”

Donghyuk let out one last exasperated sigh before turning to face Mark, whose face was pulled into a frown, obviously distressed at the sudden flaw in their plan.  
Donghyuk smiled to himself. 

“Fret not, my dear friend, for I have an idea. It’s just going to take some walking.”

Mark looked back at Donghyuk, his head tilted to the side, only looking more confused when Donghyuk threw him a wink and started heading off towards the beach.

 

***

 

“As much as I love tripping over sand castles and filling my shoes with sand, would you mind letting me know where it is we’re going?”

Donghyuk just barely avoided being stabbed in the eye with a rogue parasol when he turned his head to face Mark, snickering when he saw him tripped on a hole in the sand.

“Chill out man, we’re almost there. It’s right around that corner.”

Mark’s gaze followed the direction he was pointing in to find nothing but a bunch of rocks surrounding the edge of the beach, which was equally as crowded as the rest of it, if not worse considering he could see that this section was mainly occupied by young couples trying to escape the family fun fest that had taken up the rest of it.

“Dude…”

“Just shut up and trust me. I mean seriously, when have I ever led you astray?”

Donghyuk batted his eyelashes at his friend, who gave him a blank stare before muttering out a “I’m not answering that for both of our sakes.”

 

As Donghyuk lead Mark across the sand to the rocks that encircled the sandy shore of the little beach, he felt himself beginning to regret his choice to flaunt his fashion sense instead of wearing something more suitable for for this particular activity. The rocks were covered in a thin film of green algae, the only kind of traction being the occasional barnacle cluster sticking out from the side. He readjusted his sunglasses and hitched his ridiculously large bag higher up his shoulders as he set to climb up the rocks.

It wasn’t more than 5 minutes before he found himself slipping on the algae that covered every surface, his willpower alone being the only thing keeping his birkenstock from completely falling off his foot.

“Dude, do you want me to, like, carry your bag?”

Donghyuk huffed as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose for what felt like the fifteenth time and pushing his hat back so he could see how much further it was they had to go.

“Nah it’s fine. We’re gonna be there in a second. Three more rocks, tops.”

He felt Marks hand ghost behind his back as he slipped on another particularly moist section, but managed to go the rest of the way without too much trouble, feeling all the muscles in his body unclench the second both of his feet landed on the floor with a muffled thud.

“Aaaand we have arrived.”

Donghyuk smiled to himself as he looked around the spot he had been leading them to, the place still exactly the way it was when he had last been there.

It was a kind of small bay, hidden from the general view by large rocks on either side and a cliffside that towered up behind them. It was significantly smaller than the main beach, but considering they were the only two people there, it was absolutely perfect.

“Yo, how did you even know about this place?”

Donghyuk watched as Mark walked around in a circle, taking in the space with wide eyes. 

“Remember how my parents used to always take us to the beach every weekend in the summer? Well, at some point you start exploring.”

Donghyuk walked towards the center of the bay, plonking his bag down on the sand before stretching his arms above his head and sighing.

He breathed in with his eyes closed, relishing the smell of the air not tainted by barbecue smoke or aerosol sunscreen. 

Donghyuk loved the smell of the ocean, the faint scent of seaweed and salt that always made his nose scrunch and his skin feel a little sticky. It reminded him of his childhood, of the days he spent splashing around in the water and digging holes in the sand, forcing his brothers to participate.

He opened his eyes and stared out at the water, letting his eyes unfocus as he watched the sun reflect off the waves until he heard a sound of something falling on the ground next to him.

He looked up to find Mark staring at him with his backpack on the floor, on of the handles hanging from his hand before quickly looking away, obviously embarrassed at being caught blatantly staring.

Donghyuk chose to not say anything, not when the entire ocean was right in front of him and his body was sweaty from the walk to get to where they were.

“Whaddya say Mark,”

Mark looked up from where he had crouched down to unpack his things, already laying out his towel.

“Ready to finally do what we came for?”

The older gave a huge grin, one of his eyes closing as he squinted against the sun.

 

***

 

The way back from their little secluded atoll was significantly easier than the way there. 

Once they had managed to successfully pass the rocks (Mark only having to help retrieve Donghyuk’s sandal once), they were able to just slowly stroll along the beach, much less crowded now that the sun was beginning to set.

Donghyuk walked along the water, his toes softly splashing in the little waves that would swish by with every step. His sunglasses were now dangling around his neck, his hat stuffed somewhere deep in his bag so he could let his hair dry a bit before getting into the air conditioned train.

“Hey Mark?”

Donghyuk kept his eyes on the floor, focused on the little bubbles that would occasionally form around his ankles, when he sensed Mark looking up at him.

“Thanks for, ya know, taking me out today. I would have probably just spent all day dying at home, so I really appreciate you taking the time to take me here.”

He looked up to see Mark giving him a confused look, his eyebrows drawn as he watched his friends face.

“Dude, of course! I mean honestly, what else would I be doing? I think hanging out with my best friend at the beach instead of sitting around and staring at the ceiling is a pretty good trade-off.”

Donghyuk smiled, giving in to the little laugh that had started to bubble at the back of his throat.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, alright, alriiiiiight, we get a little bit of an insight into our hyuckie-hyuks head!  
> I'm sorry if there were any mistakes or if the flow is wack af, some stuff might have gotten messed up in the transfer and I did a lot less editing on this one because I just feel so bad for always taking so long between chapters especially since they're so minimini.
> 
> Like i said in the beginning there will be a part 2, a continuation of the same day, just from Marks perspective so keep that in mind my lovelies!  
> I hope to see more lovely comments from you guys, they give me so much strength and motivation, but remember that criticism is also always welcome!
> 
> I love you and thank you for being so patient with me <3


	5. Ignorance Is Bliss, Therefore I Shall Ignore (Beach day part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little glimpse into Marks brain on the way back from the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, she said, The next chapter will come real soon, she said.
> 
> Hello sweetpeas, I'm so sorry for taking half a decade just to edit an already full written out chapter. Here it is, finally, part 2 of beach day.

“Shit dude, we missed it.”

Mark and Donghyuk were both standing at the platform, staring up at the weather beaten screen above them that informed them in faded neon green letters that they had just missed their train by 5 minutes and that the next one wouldn’t be coming for another 40.

 

Donghyuk tilted his head back to release a long, exasperated groan, Mark softly rubbing his shoulder in sympathy. Donghyuk wasn't the best when it came to patience.

There was no one else at the station apart from the two of them, still too early for the next batch of passengers to start collecting. The sun had almost completely set at this point, the sky having taken on a shade of murky blue, little insects already dancing around the yellow lamps that lit up the little platform.

It really wasn't a very big station, consisting of two platforms and a small hut, barely big enough to hold one room. There was a roof held up by thin pillars that only covered maybe forty percent of the platform where the little hut was, the rest of it left out in the open, surrounded by a short metal barrier.

 

Donghyuk marched over to one of the benches that was placed in the center of the platform, plopping himself down and letting his bag fall from his hand, his body limply splayed across the seats.

“Mark, i’m hungry.”

Mark walked over and put his backpack down a seat away from Donghyuk, who still hadn’t moved from his splayed out position even though Mark could see one of the arm rests digging into his ribs. 

He nudged Donghyuk’s foot, only getting a soft grunt in response.  
“There’s gotta be a vending machine or something around here somewhere, you can get something there.” 

Donghyuk lulled his head forward to face Mark, a pitiful expression on his face.

“I’m broke.”

Mark stared at his friend with wide eyes. “Dude, you literally just got your allowance, how are you already broke??” 

Donghyuk sat himself up and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout that reminded Mark of when they were younger, how Donghyuk had always managed to persuade people into caving in.  
“I was craving pizza.”

 

Looks like it still worked a charm. Mark shook his head as he dug through his backpack, looking for his wallet. If there was one thing he’s learned after being friends with Donghyuk after all these years, it’s that there was no one he didn't have wrapped around his little finger.

“Do you want anything in particular?”

Donghyuk leaned forward, his head on his hand and a sweet smile on his face before letting out a soft “Surprise me”, laughing when Mark jerked and began to stiffly walk off towards the end of the platform.

Maybe Mark was wrapped a little tighter around that finger than everyone else.

He walked along slowly, the evening breeze ruffling the loose strands of his hair that still felt a little crunchy from the left over salt stuck to it, before he stopped by the railing that bordered the platform. It was facing out towards the sand dunes that just barely hid the ocean from view, only allowing little specks of shimmer to peek out from between the hills. He leaned forward against the banister and deeply inhaled the warm air around them. It had been a really long time since he had been to the beach.

Both of Marks parents worked full time jobs, doing their best to afford a nice enough house in the suburbs so they could send their only son to one of the better high schools in the country.

He didn’t blame them for not being around as much as other parents. He understood that they worked hard so that he could live the life that they weren't able to have, having been forced to work at an early age to help out their families, neither being able to make it to college. Naturally, them spending most of their time at work meant that Mark spent the majority of his time home alone, especially after Johnny had left, him being the one person who was able to take Mark places while his parents were too busy. It led Mark to get a sense of independence, having bought his bike with his own allowance so he could cycle into town or to his friends house, giving him a chance to see more than just the walls of his house. But there was always limits to how far he could go alone, or better said how far he wanted to go alone.

He shook his head and tried to focus on his surroundings. He took in another deep breath and felt the air stretch out his chest, his arms stretching out to his side's.

He was reminded of earlier, when the two had arrived at the little secret beach.

Donghyuk had been facing out towards the ocean with his arms stretched above his head, the light reflecting off of his reddish hair and golden skin as he deeply breathed in the smell of the ocean. 

Mark had been mesmerised. He couldn’t look away from the small content smile that had spread across his face, the way the sun cast shadows from his eyelashes on his cheeks.

Mark doesn’t know when, but at some point in all the years the two had been friends, Donghyuk had somehow managed to lose the last bit of puppy fat that had persistently covered his face, his once pudgy cheeks and rounded lines now smooth surfaces and soft edges, any signs of it having seemingly melted away.  
He couldn’t help but follow the way every hollow and ligament left shadows along his skin, the way his cheekbones stood more prominently and his jawline more noticeable. He watched as the muscles in Donghyuks neck shifted with every deep breath he took until he suddenly realised that Donghyuk had been looking at him.

Mark rubbed his hands over his face as he let himself come back to reality, letting out a deep exhale before he started walking further down the platform towards the vending machine he could see looming off in the distance.

 

***

 

“Jesus christ dude, what took you so long?”

Mark had finally made it back to their bench where he found Donghyuk bouncing his leg while staring at something on his phone.

“Sorry, it was further than I thought it would be. I bought you some oreos and a strawberry milk though.”

Donghyuk sat up with a small “yeet" and threw his phone onto his backpack, reaching out for the food in Mark’s arms with grabby hands.  
He ripped open the package as soon as it was in his hands, releasing a happy sigh the second he shoved one of the oreos into his mouth.

“Have I ever told you that I love you with my whole heart?” Donghyuk mumbled, little pieces of black cookie sticking to the sides of his mouth as he continued chewing.

Mark smiled as he sat himself down next to him, his grin quickly turning cheeky as he turned to face him. “Maybe a couple times, but it never hurts to hear it a couple more.”

The two sat in relative silence for a little while, enjoying their snacks and how calm the air was around them with still no one else at the platform. The sound of screeching seagulls had gradually ebbed away into the soft humming of cicadas, the occasional soft breeze rustling the reeds that surrounded the platform.

“We should come again some time.” Donghyuk was the first to break the silence.

Mark turned his head, giving up on trying to see if how quietly he could eat a Frito to look at his friend.

“What? The bay?”

Donghyuk nodded, popping another oreo in his mouth and chewing slowly as he stared at the opposite platform

“Yeah, we could bring the others, I bet they would love it.” Marks attention was focused back on his bag of chips, tilting the bag back so he could eat the rest of the crumbs.

Donghyuk looked down at the packaging in his hands, picking at the corners.  
“Or it could just be the two of us again.” 

Mark paused in his chewing as he felt his heart rate rise, arm still holding the packet in front of his face. 

It wasn’t that big of a deal. Donghyuk and he spent time by themselves all the time, they were best friends. Why was there suddenly such a different connotation to them hanging out on their own after they had spent almost every day for the past 16 odd years by each other’s side?

Mark decided that it was too much for him to think about at that moment, and decided instead to focus all his attention on his bottle of soda that refused to cooperate.

 

***

 

After an excruciatingly long game of “I-Spy” that ended with Donghyuk cursing Mark out for not knowing the difference between “red” and “blood orange”, the two finally saw the train coming up in the distance, Donghyuk springing up and collecting his things to run forward before the train had even come to a full stop.

It wasn’t until they were finally seated in the train under the fluorescent lights of the cabin that Mark could see just how exhausted Donghyuk really was. His eyes were bloodshot from a combination of saltwater, minimal sleep, and having worn cheap sunglasses all day and his expressions were slow, a permanent frown on his forehead as he squinted against the harsh light in the train.

“You look tired.”

Donghyuk turned his head to face him, his eyes still half open.

“Yeah. I’m not used to actually physically doing things.” He said with a soft smile, eyes blinking slowly.

Mark chuckled quietly as he arranged his backpack on his lap, patting it before looking back up at Donghyuk.

“Wanna lie down for a bit? It’s going to be a pretty long ride before we get home.”

Donghyuk snorted, arching one of his eyebrows as he glanced at his friend.

“Do you really think i’m going to let you be the one looking out for our stop when you barely lasted 20 minutes before knocking out on the ride here?”

 

“Ok, in my defense,” Mark raised his hands in surrender, “i was tired from playing league all night. But i’m cool now, I swear. I’ll keep a look out.”

Donghyuk squinted his eyes at him a little more, before finally giving in and leaning down to rest his head in Marks lap.

“Alright, but i swear to god, if i wake up to find we missed our stop because you knocked out again, i’m shaving your eyebrows off.”

Mark rolled his eyes as he put in one of his earbuds, drum and bass blasting to keep him awake and stared out the window, his hand absentmindedly pulling through Donghyuks hair. 

Mark had always liked running his hands through Donghyuks hair, he previously thought that it was because of just how soft it was but now, as he softly tugged his fingers through the strands, still a little damp and sprinkled with sand like it was glitter, he figured maybe it was just because it was Donghyuk.

He could sense that something was shifting in their dynamic. He wasn’t blind. He could see the way Donghyuk would respond differently, would suddenly become more thoughtful instead of the loud, boisterous kid he had always been. He could see the way Donghyuk would look at him when he thought no one was looking. 

But it wasn’t just Donghyuk who was changing, Mark could feel something different inside him too. As much as he liked to pretend it wasn’t there, he could only ignore the heart palpitations he got anytime he interacted with Donghyuk for so long.  
Somewhere along the way, Donghyuk and Mark had both grown up without realising it, and now he just didn’t know what to do with it, didn’t know how to handle this new information.

So he decided to ignore it just a little longer as he stared out the window into the dark scenery and continued threading his fingers through Donghyuks hair.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest i'm not very chuffed about the last two chapters. I feel like it had so much potential and I had the right intention, but the end product was disappointing to say the least.  
> I can't say for sure when the next chapter is coming out, partially because I am way behind on my studies but also because i'm going to be moving real soon, so whatever free time I have outside of work is going to be spent either getting my school work done or packing up my disaster zone of a room.  
> I love you guys and hope that you choose to stick around a little longer <3


	6. where dreams lack in sweetness, milkshakes make up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuk thinks too damn much but maybe for once it's a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shattner, 100 kudos?? How dope is that?? Thank you guys so much for dealing with my irregular posting and changes in writing style, the fact that there are people who still follow and enjoy this story honestly makes me so endlessly happy, I don't even have words to fully describe how much it means to me.
> 
> I'm sorry this one took so long to post, your girl was moving and suddenly developed a social life (when did that happen?) so I didn't have much time to finish editing even though I already had the majority of the chapter done over a week ago, whoops!
> 
> But anyway, here you go, I hope the wait wasn't completely unjustified <3

“I can’t believe you guys went to the beach and didn't even think to invite us.”

The boys had decided to spend the afternoon together in Renjun’s living room, Jaemin and Jeno on the floor immersed in a game of Mario Kart while Donghyuk, Mark and Renjun were sitting on the couch, snacking on chips and mindlessly watching as Jeno once again annihilated his friend with a blue shell.

“I dunno dude, I guess it just slipped my mind.” Mark responded with a shrug, stretching his neck to eat a potato chip Donghyuk held out in front of his face.

Renjun stared at him with a mixture of disgust before sitting out “How the hell did you manage to forget three whole people?? THREE! It’s not like you have that many friends to begin with- Ow!”

He had been interrupted by Mark elbow digging into his ribs, Donghyuk cackling from the corner of the sofa as he softly rubbed his side, pouting up at the two boys.

“I’m just saying, it would have been nice to get an invite too. I’m tired of just third wheeling those two on their dates by myself.”

Donghyuk turned to face Mark before they both looked back at Renjun, their eyes wide. 

“You mean they’re..” Mark started, his hand loosely gesturing in their friends direction, as Jeno wiggled with his victory dance in front of Jaemin who was slumped over with his head in his hands, a large red “Congratulations” spread across the screen.  
Renjun looked at them in confusion.

“They’re what?”

“Ya know,” Donghyuk leaned over Mark, one of his elbows resting on his thigh so he could bend closer to Renjun “..dating.”

Donghyuk could feel the anticipation coming from Mark as they both watched Renjuns eyes flick between them.

What they hadn’t expected, however, was for Renjun to suddenly break out laughing, choking on his breath as tears formed in his eyes, making them both lean back with surprise.

“The fuck? No you weirdos, it was just an expression!”  
He continued to laugh, Jaemin and Jeno having turned around at this point to see what the commotion was about as Renjun struggled to breath

When he had finally managed to settle down to a light giggle, wiping the tears from his eyes, he faced Mark and Donghyuk again. “Did you seriously think they we’re dating??”

Mark and Donghyuk looked at each other before shrugging, successfully making Renjun fall back with another peal of laughter as Jaemin tried shaking Renjuns leg to get his attention.  
“Who’s dating? What’s going on?”

A few seconds and strategically placed slaps on his knee from Jaemin, Renjun was finally able to contain his laughter enough to speak, turning to his friend and wheezing out “I said... I didn’t want to third wheel you guys on your dates... and they thought I meant you guys were literally dating!”

Jaemin gave Renjun a look of disgust before letting go of his leg in order to sit back on his calves.  
“First of all, rude, and second of all Jeno wishes he was dating someone like me.” before turning back and sending a wink to Jeno who currently wore the kind of expression someone would make after having smelled something unpleasant.

“This is what I meant when I said I was tired of third wheeling you guys.” Renjun deadpanned, reaching his hand out in Donghyuk’ s direction so he could hand over the bag of chips.

“Dude, come on we’re not even that bad.” Jaemin dusted off the knees of his pants and made his way over to the couch, plopping himself down beside Renjun and swiping the bag of chips out of his hands. “Mark and Hyuk are WAY worse.”

Donghyuk and Mark turn to their friends, both with matching affronted expressions before Donghyuk lets out a high pitched “What did we ever do??” 

Synchronised, Renjun, Jaemin, and Jeno turn to give them an expression of exasperation.

“Are you being serious right now?” Jaemin mumbled around a mouthful of chips as Jeno tried to squish himself between Jaemin and the arm rest. “Are you guys seriously sitting there and saying you don’t know just how insufferable you are when you’re together?”

Donghyuk turned his head to look at Mark who was already looking back at him before they both faced their friends, shaking their heads.

Jeno leaned forward to stare at them in disbelief as Jaemin and Renjun slumped back into the couch, Jaemin puffing out a breath that tousled his bangs. “Dude, whenever you’re together you like disappear into your own world.”

Renjun nodded, digging around in the chip bag for the last bits of crumbs. “All you do is stare at each other and laugh at your own inside jokes that no one else understands. If any of us are dating, it’s you guys.”

 

***

 

It was just getting dark, the sky becoming that signature shade of inky blue, when Mark and Donghyuk decided to split from the others, Mark giving him a ride on the back of his bike as usual.

They cycled in silence, Donghyuk still thinking about what his friends had said as he listened to the quiet clicking of Marks old bike, Mark focusing on steadily pushing them both forward.

The streets were strangely quiet, bikes and toys discarded here and there along the street, still left from the neighborhood kids who had gone inside after having played all day outside in the streets. With every minute that passed another timed lamp would flicker on, leaving little pools of yellow to interrupt the blue hue that had taken over their neighborhood.

Donghyuk lived for these summer evenings. The ones where you could smell the hot asphalt of the road after baking in the sun all day, could practically feel the presence of life that had been there just a few minutes earlier, leaving the empty air charged.

He closed his eyes, inhaling the smell of the air around him that was slightly mixed with the smell of Marks deodorant and washing detergent. 

“Hey Mark?”

Mark stopped his pedalling and let the bike roll forward along the flat street, still staring ahead.

“What’s up?”

Donghyuk clenched his hands in the fabric of Marks T-shirt, internally pushing himself to ask the question that had been running through his mind ever since they had left their friend’s house.

“What do you think the guys meant. Ya know... about us being in our own world and stuff.”  
He decided to omit the part about them dating. That was a question he didn’t want answers to quite yet.

He could feel Mark pause, thinking of a response as he started to peddle again, picking up momentum.

“I mean, I guess we are closer to each other than to others but I dunno, Isn’t that just because we’re best friends?” 

Donghyuk kept quiet for a second, his hands still clutching onto the sides of Marks shirt.

“Do you think we’re maybe... too close?”

Donghyuk could see the way Marks shoulders tensed, the way his feet briefly stuttered before getting back into their steady rhythm. He watched him stretched his neck to make sure no cars were coming from the side before turning down one of the streets, only speaking once they had gone around the bend.

“Do YOU think we’re too close?”

Donghyuk looked down in front of him, his eyes following the way Mark’s T-shirt stuck to his lower back, how he could see the outlines of his spine and shoulder blades poking through the thin blue fabric.  
He thought about all the times Mark was there for him whenever he needed him, the way he seemed to wordlessly know exactly what was going on in Donghyuk’s head. He thought about how normal it was to rest his head on his friend’s shoulder, how easy it was for him to encroach on his space. He loved how close they were. He loved that he never had to think or contemplate before showing his affection, because he knew it would always be received with an awkward smile and a laugh. 

Donghyuk released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, the muscles in his back relaxing as a small smile spread across his face. He suddenly didn't care if people thought they were too close, he was happy with the way they were. He wrapped his arms around Marks waist, resting his cheek against his best friends back as his upper body moved with Marks, softly bobbing along with his peddling.

“Nah, I think we’re alright.”

 

***

 

It was around three o’clock in the morning when Donghyuk was jolted out of whatever kind of resting state he had managed to lull himself into by a door closing somewhere in the house.  
He had been lying in bed staring at the ceiling, the buzzing of the thoughts in his head matching the fan above him, when he decided how pointless it was to wait for sleep to come when it obviously didn’t plan on gracing him any time soon.  
He slowly pulled himself up, the one corner of his sheet that still covered him falling to the side as he stood up and walked over to the pair of sweatpants he had discarded on the floor, clumsily pulling them over his shorts and just barely avoiding falling over while grabbing his phone and headphones from his desk. He creeped down the stairs slipping into a pair of ratty adidas by the door that must have belonged to Jaehyun as he made his way out into the night, quietly closing the door behind him.

Donghyuk wandered down the empty streets of his neighborhood, taking advantage of the lack of cars to walk in the middle of the street as Daniel Caesar played through his headphones. There was always something thrilling to him about seeing a road with no cars, similar to seeing snow with no footprints.

He kicked pebble ahead of him, watching it bounce and roll across the street when he saw headlights come up behind him, stretching his shadow against the light gray road.  
He stepped off to the side, turning a little to look at the car when he noticed it slowing down next to him. He slid his headphones off his head so they could rest around his neck, music still playing softly from the cups and mixing into the sounds of the night.

“What’re you doing out here so late?”

Donghyuk stared at Taeyong as he leaned out of the open window of his car, his hair, now dyed a soft brown, ruffled by the wind and his black sleeveless shirt exposing the side of his chest. He hadn’t expected to see anyone out at this time, let alone someone he knew.

“Oh you know,” Donghyuk reached up to ruffle his bed-head into what he hoped was something more presentable “just that good old insomnia.”

Taeyong’s eyebrow twitched slightly. 

“Well would you like to come for a drive? I don’t like knowing you’re just walking around at this time by yourself. We can go get milkshakes or something.”

Donghyuk smiled to himself as he made his way over to the passenger door and slid into the worn-down seat of Taeyong’s green ‘69 Pontiac.  
He could remember, when he was younger, begging his brothers to let him come with them whenever they met up with Taeyong just in hopes of being able to ride in this exact car and yet, here he was, at two am with one heck of a bedhead and wearing a Destiny's Child T-shirt clicking in his seatbelt.  
He could hear slow RnB playing quietly through the old stereo system, Taeyong tapping his fingers along to the beat as he started the car back up.

It wasn't until a couple streets later that Taeyong spoke up again.

“Any reason why you can’t sleep?” He kept his eyes on the road, arm resting on the windowsill and looking every bit like the main character of an indie romance.

Donghyuk leaned his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes as he felt the warm air from the open window lift his bangs off his forehead.

“I dunno. Guess I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

He heard Taeyong hum softly as they cruised down the empty streets, neither of them having an exact plan where they’re going, just moving on instinct. He rolled his head to look in Taeyongs direction.

“What are you doing up?”

Taeyong chuckled as he ran one of his hands through his hair.

“I was just… dropping someone off.” Donghyuk decided not to say anything about the little smile that had appeared on Taeyongs face when he said it. “But don’t think i’mma let you off the hook that easily. Come on Hyuckie, tell me what's goin' on up there.”

Donghyuk rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling, his eyes tracing the worn down edge of the passenger mirror. “I dunno, it’s stupid.”

Taeyong paused at a red light, finally turning to look at Donghyuck, who was now staring out of the windshield window. “Wanna tell me over that milkshake?”

Donghyuk smiled as he took a deep breath through his nose. If he was going to tell anyone, it might as well be Taeyong.

“Sure.”

 

************************************************

 

The two were sitting in the parking lot behind McDonalds, the only light coming from the one street lamp that was positioned smack in the middle of the almost empty lot.

They sat in a comfortable silence as they sipped on their milkshakes, Taeyong occasionally dipping a fry into it, making Donghyuk groan in disgust. 

“Hey man, just wait ‘til you get to college, the weirdest things start tasting amazing. It’s like the constant stress and sleep deprivation rearrange your taste buds or something.” He put his cup down on the dashboard and reached into one of the glove compartments to pull out a pack of sanitary wipes to wipe his hands before leaning into the crevice between the driver’s seat and the door.

“Alright kid, tell me what’s plaguing your adolescent mind so late at night.”

Donghyuk swirled his last of his milkshake around his mouth before answering, trying his best to get his thoughts in order before responding.

“I don’t know if this is why I can’t sleep, but there has been something that i’ve been thinking about.”

Taeyong patiently waited for Donghyuk to start.

“How is it possible for someone you’ve known for so long to suddenly look so… different.” 

Taeyong tilted his head to the side, looking back him with clear confusion written across his face.

“I mean,” Donghyuk looked down at the empty cup in his hand, one of his fingers flicking the chewed up straw that stuck out of the plastic lid, “Like their whole ambience or something. You see this person every day but suddenly something’s… different. Prettier, I guess.”

Taeyong pursed his lips, deep in thought, the yellow light from the street lamp throwing exaggerated shadows across his face. Donghyuk looked at him waiting for his response and hoping that what he had said made more sense to Taeyong than it made to himself.

“I think... the way we see people changes based on our experiences with them,” He looked up at Donghyuk, his eyebrows still drawn in concentration as he seemed to think of the best way to put his thoughts into words.

“When you see a person for the first time, you see them with a completely objective eye. You don’t have any thoughts or experiences clouding your vision. As soon as you find out one little detail about that person, suddenly something about them changes, either for the better or for the worse, depending on the experience you have with them.”

Donghyuk nodded, staying quiet and looking back down at his cup.

“It’s all so subjective. Someone can be considered the most beautiful person in the world, objectively, but if you experience something negative about them then to you there will always be someone more beautiful. The opposite can be the case too.”

“So basically,” Donghyuk chewed softly on his lip, “the more you like a person, the more beautiful they become, subjectively?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Taeyong leaned forward to grab his cup off the dashboard, sucking up whatever was left of his by now melted milkshake. “Why do you ask?”

Donghyuk slumped backwards, hitting the back of his head on the headrest as he blew out an exhale.

“Because I recently figured out just how ethereal a person can be.”

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes siree bob! so, there was a teeeeensy bit of foreshadowing in this chapter on some other little story lines going on, could you spot it? I still don't have much of a plan as to which direction this story is going so if you guys have any ideas or thoughts, I would love to hear them!! Thank you so much again for the 100 kudos it means so so much to me and I hope to continue pleasing you guys in the future!


	7. You Look So Pretty Under Neon Lightbulbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark does some thinking which leads to some decision-making

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I really took my sweet time with this, didn't I? Hope you enjoy~

Mark was exactly 3 minutes away from his destination when the sky decided to release all its fury in the form of a freak summer storm, drenching him from head to toe before he could duck into the shelter of his friend’s doorway. He stared down at the soggy fabric of his yellow t-shirt, the bright color mocking him as it began to sag around his body, his light wash jeans becoming a shade of dark blue and his wet socks squelching in his converse. 

He shook out his hair as he knocked, the front door swinging open right as he had decided to squeeze some of the water from his shirt. 

“Yo dude, perfect timing, it just started rain...ing.”

Mark laughed as he watched Lucas raise his head from where he had been staring at his phone, his eyes widening at how drenched Mark was, before quickly ushering him inside the house.

“How the hell did you get so wet?? I swear it was clear like a second ago!”

“It was.” Mark responded, wincing as he tried to pull his shoe off, the fabric sticking to him stubbornly and refusing to let him go with his sock still intact.

“Jesus. Well, you wanna borrow some clothes?”

Mark managed to yank his shoe off his food, throwing him off balance before turning to look up at Lucas. “Do you have anything that would fit me? You’re like 3 times my size.”

Lucas paused, scratching his head before clapping his hands together. “Well, I guess that’s what drawstrings are for!”

He gestured Mark into the house, leading him down the hall to a door, just off the side of the kitchen, that led to the basement.

“I still can’t believe you managed to convince your parents to let you sleep downstairs. My mom alone would have had a fuckin’ aneurysm.”

Lucas cackled as they carefully stepped down the wooden stairs, the gaps between each step always feeling just a little too long. “Trust me, they did. It was kind of hard for them to refuse when I already had all of my stuff down there though.”

Stepping into Lucas’ bedroom was a little bit like stepping into a time capsule. The walls were plastered with posters of artists like The Smiths and The Cure, Depeche Mode and Aerosmith, two soft yellow bulbs and an orange Lava lamp being the only sources of light outside of the little window at the top of the far wall that led out to the backyard. In the corner Lucas had set up a little DIY gym behind an old pull out couch he now used as his bed after managing to save it from being tossed out. The only part of the room that didn't look like it was straight out of an 80’s coming of age series was the TV and gaming system he had set up opposite the couch, along with a Bose surround sound system propped up in every corner of the room.

Lucas walked over to a chest of drawers that stood hidden underneath the stairs, pulling out a large gray t-shirt and some shorts before handing them over to Mark and jutting his chin out in the direction of the laundry basket next to them where he could put his wet clothes.

“So, to what to I owe the pleasure of your company?” Lucas said as he plopped himself down on the worn out futon, his long limbs spread out like a starfish. “Your boyfriend busy?”

“First of all,” Mark mumbled through the fabric of the shirt he was pulling over his head. “He isn’t my boyfriend.” Lucas rolled his eyes. 

“And second of all,” His head popped out, damp hair standing in every direction, “Can’t I just hang out with you because I want to?”

Lucas grinned at him, his hand coming up to brush his own bangs off his forehead. “Of course you can! Doesn’t mean it isn’t still a little sus.”

Mark chose to ignore his comment, planting himself beside him, the huge shirt he had been given billowing out around him like a dress as he tried ruffling his hair back into shape. Mark felt his phone vibrate.

Hyuckie:  
-Dude…. Please save me. 

He smiled to himself as he stared at the screen.

MaRk:  
-What, family fun time not that fun?

Hyuckie:  
-No. No it is not.  
-Apparently mom’s idea of “family fun time” was forcing her kids into unpaid labor.

MaRk:  
-?

Hyuckie:  
-She’s forcing us to help her rearrange the furniture in the living room and paint the walls.  
-I stg she’s acting like you dweebs aren’t the only people who see the inside of my house.

“So THAT’S Why you suddenly decided to hangout." Mark turns to see Lucas staring over his shoulder. "I knew it wasn’t just because you missed my stunning personality.” He said, hand brought up to his mouth dramatically while Mark rolled his eyes and went back to his messages.

MaRk:  
-Boo.  
-Well, i hate to break it to you, but this dweeb is currently hanging out with someone else, so you’ll have to find another person to save you.

Hyuck:  
-Oh the betrayal.  
-Et tu Brute?  
-Who’re you with

MaRk:  
\- Lucas

Hyuckie:  
-Omg, tell that beautiful idiot I said hi

MaRk:  
-Will do

“Hyuk says hi. He also called you a beautiful idiot.”

Mark smiled as he slipped his phone into his pocket, watching Lucas exaggeratedly flip his hair.

 

 

The two had been playing video games for a straight hour when Lucas’ stomach growls became a little too loud to overlook and they decide to go upstairs.

“You’re game is weak man, only an hour and you already have to take a break?”

“Oi,” Lucas opened the fridge, only turning back to Mark after he had successfully emptied half a gallon of juice. “Be glad I had to take a break, otherwise I would still be kicking your ass.”

Mark laughed as Lucas poured him a glass, keeping the bottle for himself. Mark was always amazed at the quantity Lucas was able to ingest.

Lucas began shuffling around the kitchen, looking for something the two could eat before settling on heating up some of the leftovers his mom had left them, the two sitting in silence while sipping their juice and listening to the soft whirring of the microwave. 

“So,” Mark looked up from his glass right when the microwave started beeping. Lucas paused before standing up to get the food.

“I heard you went to the beach with Hyuk recently.”

Mark stared at him with a blank expression, eyes blinking in confusion. “How d’you know about that?”

Lucas smirked as he started shovelling food on to two plates, only stopping to look up at Mark mischievously.

“I have my ways…” He put the empty containers into the trash and slid the plate across the table to Mark.

“I also just happened to overhear Renjun talking shit to Chenle about you guys.”

Mark groaned as he leaned back in his chair, his head lolling backwards as he looked up at the ceiling.

“I swear to god, he can be so dramatic sometimes.”

Lucas chuckled as he sat down opposite him, already shoving a huge spoon of food into his mouth.

“He said you guys have been acting weird lately, so what’s up? Open up to your compadre.”

Mark let his head flop forward as he slid his chair closer to the table and began digging his spoon into his food.

“There isn’t really anything to open up about, to be honest.” He shoved his spoon in his mouth, chewing slowly as he tried to think of the words to say next.

“It’s like… Everything is the same, but something feels different. We still make the same jokes, we still do the same things, we’re still the same people but something’s a little bit off.”

Lucas furrowed his brow as he chewed his food thinking over what Mark had said. He reached out to grab his bottle before facing Mark again.

“‘Off’ in a bad way?”

Mark stopped his hand midway to his mouth, staring at the grains of rice in front of him.

“See that’s the thing, I don’t know. I don’t think so?”

Lucas stared at him, a look of pure confusion on his face.

“It’s like, there’s nothing missing. It’s not like something changed and now i’m missing the way things used to be, it’s more like… Something is different from before but no matter how many times I go over it I can’t figure it out.”

Lucas slowly raised his juice to his mouth, squinting off into the distance. Mark really couldn’t blame him for not understanding.

“But good different?”

“Yeah. I think.”

 

 

“Don’t be a stranger, man. Bring the boys with you next time, it’s been ages since we last hung out.”

The air was thick and hazy as Mark made his way home, the rain having left a thick layer of moisture over everything. He stared down at his feet as he walked, his clothes smelling like Lucas’ washing detergent after he had washed them for him. He can’t remember his sneakers ever being this clean, cautiously stepping around puddles as he let his mind wander.

He hadn’t been completely honest with Lucas, for the same reason he hadn’t been completely honest with himself. He wasn’t stupid, he had had crushes before, he just never thought he would have one on his best friend, of all people. 

He kicked a pebble into one of the puddles as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Mark had no idea how he was going to go about this. Of course, he could always take the easy way out: Continuing to ignore the way his heart would beat a little faster whenever Donghyuck so much as leaned on him, pretending like the longing he felt whenever they weren’t together was just fear of being alone, a common strand of loneliness.

But Mark knew himself. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before something erupted. Before every repressed glance, every silenced thought, and every touch that he willed not to linger would explode out of him at the smallest trigger.

He wished he had someone he could talk to about this, but the one person he would always tell these things to was currently the reason why he was angrily trudging down the street, clean converse be damned.

“Welcome back, cheater.”

 

Mark whipped his head up, only now realising that he had already arrived outside of his house, on his doorstep being the cause of all his stress and inner turmoil.

“Hyuk! What’re you doing here? I thought you were spending time with your family.”

He watched as Donghyuk stood up from the doorstep, brushing his hands against his ripped jeans and lazily making his way over to Mark.

“Dongyoung dropped the couch on his foot so he had to go to the hospital. Mom said I wasn’t allowed to go with them because I kept on making jokes.”

“That sounds about right.” Mark chuckled. “How long have you been sitting there?”

Donghyuk crossed his arms across his chest, pouting as he looked up at Mark through his bangs that we’re starting to curl from the humidity.

“Long enough for my butt to fall asleep.”

Mark let out the laugh that was tickling at his chest. It was as if all the stress and tension that had built up on his walk home suddenly evaporated, disappearing from his body with his laughter. 

“I’m serious man, I wouldn’t be surprised if it deflated. I demand compensation.”

Mark stared down at his friend, his cheeks already starting to hurt from grinning. 

“Wanna go get some ice cream?”

Donghyuk’s face broke into a smile as he twirled to stand next to Mark, snaking his arm around his own, and leading them towards Marks bike that still stood in the garage.

“I guess that’ll suffice. Let’s roll.”

 

 

 

The sun had already set as Mark and Donghyuck sat down on the little step of their convenience store, eating their ice creams as the streetlights flickered above them.

There weren’t many people apart from the few kids coming back from the pool and the occasional delivery man driving by on a scooter, the air filled with the crackling of insects flying into the neon lights above them and the low brumming of the stores old A/C unit.

“So, how’s our Xuxi doing? What did you guys do?”

Mark tilted the last of the melted ice cream into his mouth before turning to face Donghyuk, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“He’s good. We mainly just played video games in his room to be honest. He finally got the basement all set up, it’s super dope.”

Donghyuk hummed in response as he watched a line of ants walk in front of them. 

Mark decided to take this second that Donghyuk was distracted to let his eyes follow his profile. He stared at the way the shadows stretched across his face, how the light reflected off of every one of his fly-aways and the slope of his nose. Even in the most unflattering of lights, there was no other way to describe him than ethereal.

He doesn’t know what it was that spurred him on. Whether it was the exhaustion that was starting to slowly take over his body from spending the day with Lucas or whether his thoughts had just become too much, overflowing the dam he had built, and slipping out.

“Hey Hyuk?”

Donghyuk lifted his head, turning it to face Mark while propping it up on his palm, a small smile on his face.

“I think I might be in love with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *finger wiggles*


	8. You Make Me Bubbly Baby, So Call Me Coca Cola

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck responds to Marks impromptu confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it is I, the disgraceful author that keeps on promising frequent updates and then disappearing for months.
> 
> Guys, I am so so sorry for leaving you all on that cliffhanger for so long, my brain decided to just log the fuck out and I had to rewrite this entire chapter like 3 times.
> 
> Hopefully this makes up for the wait a little bit <3

“What?”

Donghyuk stared back at Marks face as he waited for a reaction; a smile, a laugh, any kind of indication that this was all a joke, that the person he had spent weeks looking after and pining over hadn’t just sat there and confessed to him as if he was mentioning trying out a new hairstyle.

He watched Mark pause, tilting his head down to stare at the floor and play with his shoelaces just so he could avoid looking Donghyuk in the eyes. He didn’t say anything, he barely even allowed himself to breathe just incase it would spark something in him to take everything back, to pretend that it was just a misunderstanding. He could already practically see the gears turning in Marks head, contemplating whether or not it was too late to retract what was said and write it off as a slip of the tongue, a gaffe. 

“I, uh,” Another pause. “I said I think I might be in love with you.”

There it was.  
A bubbly feeling began to build its way through Donghyuks body, tickling up through his legs and swirling through his stomach until it decided to rest at the bottom of his throat. He coughed out an exhale, his heart beat pounding in his ears as the bubbles in his chest decided to drift out of his mouth in the form of giggles.

Donghyuk let himself fall backwards onto the slab of uneven cement in front of the mini mart as Mark stared at him, his laughter floating up into the night sky and melting in with the buzzing of the neon lights behind them.  
He could feel every little rock and grain of sand dig itself into his skin as he lay there but he couldn’t find himself to really care as he let the fizzy feeling take over his muscles, making him feel lighter than he had in weeks. He wiped at his eyes, rubbing away any moisture that had collected there and turned his head to face his friend, who still sat there with a face of pure, unfiltered confusion.

Positive that nothing could shatter the glow that seemed to run through his veins, Donghyuk smiled up at him. “So you’re in love with me, huh? You sure about that?”

Shaken out of his confusion Mark scoffed to himself, rolling his eyes and looking in the opposite direction. “Well I was until you decided to have a fucking laughing fit right in my face.” He could faintly see the way Marks red ears stood out from his hair.

Donghyuk rolled his head to look up at the sky, the stars just barely visible past the glare of the street light above them. He focused on one star in particular as he tried to slow down his breathing and will the bubbly feeling to fade enough for him to properly speak again. He knew he had to explain to Mark that the fact he had broken out into uncontrollable laughter was actually a positive sign and not him blatantly laughing in his face for confessing his feelings. Just because he knew Mark had nothing to worry about, didn’t mean that Mark did.  
He let out one long exhale before sitting up and shaking the dirt out of his hair. 

“Sorry dude, it just... caught me a little off guard.” 

Mark hesitated before letting out a quiet “Yeah”, letting his head droop so he could go back to staring at the floor, face almost completely cast in shadow. “It kind of caught me off guard too.”

The silence between them was so tangible, accentuating every sound around them. Suddenly the sound of the cicadas and the humming of the old A/C unit behind them was almost deafening, interfering with their thought process and leaving them both empty.

He watched as Mark lifted his arm to rub at the back of his neck, a habit he had whenever he was at a crossroad where he didn’t know which way to take. Donghyuk new so many of Marks little mannerisms, probably more than he knew his own. Even when they were younger, Donghyuk had somehow always been watching Mark. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for him to fall in love with him.

Following where Marks hand had rested at his hairline, Donghyuk let his eyes roam up along the side of his face to the shaggy strands that were beginning to stick to his forehead from the humidity, his short hair having grown out long enough for the strands to almost reach his eyebrows, and admiring the way the light reflected off of the baby hairs that covered his skin.  
He propped his elbow up on one of his knees, tilting his head as it leaned against his palm. “Well, what made you do it?”

There are moments in everyone’s lives when they realize that it’s too late to care about censoring what they say, when regardless of what they do from that point on, the damage had already been done and they may as well just say ‘fuck it’.  
It was this exact moment that made Mark straighten his back and turn to look Donghyuk directly in his eyes, his own alight with determination.

“Because I just couldn’t keep it in anymore.”

Donghyuk felt his chest fill with bubbles again, although a little less sweet this time, almost bitter. There was something else intermingled with the determination written across his friends face. It was a kind of sad acceptance, as if he was already prepared for his world to be torn apart, for everything to come to an end. It was a look of defeat, a loss of control. He didn’t like that look on Mark.

“I wanted to keep it to myself, like I definitely didn’t think I would be telling you now, like this but… I dunno.” Mark groaned in frustration, tangling his fingers in his hair as he fumbled for his words, not finding the right ones to properly convey all the thoughts that had been running through his head nonstop for a while now. 

“Do you know how hard it is to have such strong feelings for someone but not know what they’re thinking? To not know if there’s a chance that they feel the same way, if all the signs they’ve been giving you were real or if you’re just making it all up in your head? It’s torture.” Mark looked away, choosing to focus on something across the street as he lowered his hands from his head and rested them on his knees.

Donghyuk looked at him in surprise, not used to Mark being so vocal, before he nodded slowly and humming. Under different circumstances, he would have laughed at the irony of Mark’s words, but he still wasn’t a hundred percent convinced that this wasn’t all just some kind of heat induced hallucination, that he wasn’t seconds away from waking up in his bedroom with nothing but his electric fan beside him.

He stretched his arms above his head, sighing as he felt his back pop after sitting hunched over on the stoop for so long. Leaning back against them, palms pressed to the gritty cement with his head tilted towards the sky, he closed his eyes so he could enjoy the breeze that had decided to finally make its appearance, dislodging his bangs from his sweaty forehead. 

“Well,” He said, turning his head to look at Mark out of the corner of his eye. “What are we going to do now?”

He registered the way Marks shoulders suddenly slumped forward, his confidence from earlier draining out of him as he went back to staring at his once white converse and fumbling with his laces.

“I guess you can just… pretend I never said anything? So we can just keep on being the way we’ve always been?” He looked up at Donghyuk, his eyes wide. 

Mark had always acted so much older than the rest of them. It was so uncommon to see him so genuinely terrified of something. Even when they were growing up, Mark was the one that kept a cool head, the one to diffuse every situation and find a way out. Seeing him so helpless and scared because of him, because of what he could say made Donghyuks mouth feel dry, the bitter feeling inside of him growing until he could practically taste it. 

That being said, somewhere deep inside the depths of his being, there was still a small part of him that was petty enough to want to get back at Mark for all the emotional turmoil he had unintentionally put him through. He stayed quiet, pretending to contemplate his answer as if he hadn’t already been willing to risk it all for him.

Donghyuk cleared his throat. “Nah fam, fuck that.” 

He watched as the color drained out of Marks face, his eyes blowing up even wider as his eyebrows disappeared up into his hair. “Wha-”

“Do you even know the kind of emotional shitfest I’ve been through lately?” He interrupted before Mark could say anything, watching as he stared at him in confusion, his eyebrows now pulled together in a frown and his head tilted to the side.  
“I did not spend, like, almost a month losing sleep pining over your ass just for us to be friends after you tell me you’re in love with me.”

Donghyuk smiled as he saw realization begin to blossom across Marks face, pulling his own mouth up into a smile before he abruptly stopped himself and glared at Donghyuk.

“Are you seriously saying I just bared my soul to you and made a fool of myself for no reason?! You know what, never mind. I revoke my confession. I don’t give love to assholes.”

Donghyuk tilted his head back and released a full laugh, the bitterness evaporating from his body before leaning forward and resting his arms on Marks thigh so he could gaze up at him, both of them starry eyed.

“Yeah, but I’m your asshole now.”

 

***

 

There was still a soft breeze blowing when the boys decided to make their way home, choosing to go on foot so they could prolong the inevitable for as long as possible.  
They walked alongside each other, the air still filled with static energy just on the right side of awkward and the clicking of Marks bike as they slowly walked down the empty street, only a foot or so between them.

Donghyuk admired the grin on Marks face, similar, if not a little more bashful than his own, making his cheekbones cast dark shadows across his cheeks every time they passed under a street light. Even though neither of them had said a word since they left, it wasn’t stagnant. They both just enjoyed silently being in each other’s company. 

As they walked down the same streets they had walked since they were little, dodging the cracks in the pavement and avoiding the sprinklers that sprayed too far into the sidewalk as if by muscle memory, Donghyuk was surprised at how normal everything felt. There weren’t suddenly brighter colors or sweeter sounds. He didn’t feel like a new person, like his world had been changed. He felt the same as he always did, the only thing proving it wasn’t just a figment of his imagination being Mark right beside him.

They were just about to enter their little cul-de-sac, only a block or two away from their houses, when Donghyuk felt Mark gradually slow his pace until he came to a stop, turning to face him as he leaned against his bicycle. 

“So…” Mark cleared his throat, making Donghyuk glance over at him and laugh to himself at the way Marks hair stood up from the breeze. “What are we going to do about the others?”

He reached up to softly run his hand through Marks hair and fix the strands that were out of place. 

“Well I guess we should probably tell them, right?”

Eyes closed, Mark tilted his head towards Donghyuks hand, making a little shiver pass through his body and giving him goosebumps. They had never been strangers to physical affection, but he had never experienced Mark so willing to reciprocate before. Donghyuk let his hand rest in his hair while he waited for an answer.

Mark sighed before opening his eyes. “I mean yeah but like… how? I’m like ninety percent positive they don’t even know I like dudes.”

Donghyuk hummed softly as he nodded, finally taking his hand out of Marks hair before lifting his other to scratch at his own head.  
“I get what you mean.” 

They both stood in silence again, letting the quiet hum of the suburbs surround them as they contemplated what to do. It wasn’t like they could just walk into one of their hangouts holding hands and throwing them a ‘Hey guys, B-T-dubs, we’re both into guys and dating each other,’ and expect everything to be hunky dory. If it took the two of them almost a month to come to terms with the situation when they were the ones going through it, it was more than likely going to take their friends more than a couple minutes to understand the situation. 

“Well, I mean…” Donghyuk began, making Marks head perk up. “We don’t have to tell them straight away. We can just sort of play it by ear, drop hints here and there, ya know, ease them into it? Who knows,” Donghyuk sniffed as he looked down at his fingers, pretending to inspect his nails, “you might get sick of me before the week is done.”

Mark playfully shoved Donghyuks shoulder, making the almost familiar bubbly feeling well up just under the surface of his skin when Mark smiled at him, his dark eyes gleaming in the lights from the house in front of them.

“Alright, that sounds like a plan. Imma warn you now though,” Mark smirked at him, leaning his head in closer until Donghyuck could see every single one of Marks beauty marks in the dim light, “it’s definitely going to take more than a week for me to get sick of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT FINALLY HAPPENED! God, i really hope I redeemed myself to you guys, because I love you all so much and all the sweet things you guys have said to me really is one of the main reasons I manage to kick my writers block in the ass and pummel through it. Thank you so much for reading my story and commenting on it, it honestly lights up my whole day anytime I hear from you <3 Once I finally learn how to put links in here Imma put up my twitter because I would love to get to know you guys more.  
> Again, thank you so much for sticking around for this long and giving me such a warm reception with my first story, it really means so much more to me than you could imagine.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember sweet peas, all feedback is welcome so please let me know what you liked, what you hated, what you think i should change, or just shoot me a hello, either way i'll be happy :D
> 
> If you like, feel free to follow or message me on twitter @SugakookieCrumb , it's a bit of a mess, but i talk a lot about music and our babies so why not, ya dig?
> 
> alright, Love ya!


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